news OLIVIA — An Olivia woman is facing a felony charge of aggravated forgery and a gross misdemeanor charge of stalking in Renville County after allegedly pretending to have given birth to twins prematurely, and sending her former boyfriend forged court documents for child support and paternity.
Carla...
Willmar, 56201

Willmar Minnesota 2208 Trott Ave. SW / P.O. Box 839 56201

2014-07-29 23:05:06

OLIVIA — An Olivia woman is facing a felony charge of aggravated forgery and a gross misdemeanor charge of stalking in Renville County after allegedly pretending to have given birth to twins prematurely, and sending her former boyfriend forged court documents for child support and paternity.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Carla Ann Berry, 30, of Olivia, was arraigned Monday in District Court in Olivia and released on her own recognizance, according to information from the Renville County Attorney’s office.

The criminal complaint charges that a man identified by the initials JL had a relationship with the defendant in late 2013. She told him she was pregnant with twins and had a due date of Aug. 28. She gave him blurry ultrasound photos with a doctor’s name. The fetuses were labeled as “Baby A’’ and ‘’Baby B” on the photos.

The man broke off the relationship in March, and later learned that Berry had attempted suicide.

The complaint alleges that in May, the man’s mother received a Mother’s Day card and five-page letter from Berry which spoke of the unborn twins she named Diesel and Chevelle. The man also learned that Berry had allegedly posted social media messages about being pregnant.

She claimed she had given birth to the twins prematurely on May 14 at the Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis. A few weeks later she allegedly sent to the man tightly cropped, distorted and pixilated photos she claimed were of her holding the babies.

On June 1, a woman hand delivered an envelope to the man’s residence on behalf of Berry, the complaint alleges. It contained documents under the heading “Notice of Filing” and indicated that actions to establish paternity and obtain child support from him were initiated in Redwood County. The papers included the signature of a judge and the name of an attorney.

An investigation by the Olivia Police Department determined that no such filing had been made, the attorney had not been retained, and that the judge’s signature was forged, according to the complaint. There were misspellings in the documents, which appear to have been copied from the Internet.

On July 25, Olivia police executed a search of Berry’s residence and placed her under arrest. She allegedly admitted to the forgery, but said she was not stalking anyone. An inking stamp and a red “COPY” stamp allegedly used in the forgery were seized.

On July 26, an Olivia police officer interviewed Berry and she allegedly admitted that she made up the story about having given birth to the twins prematurely; however, she claimed she had been pregnant. She claimed the children died when she ingested poison in an attempted suicide. Police are seeking her medical records.

During the interview, Berry admitted to creating the documents sent to the man and posting social media accounts about the twins, according to the complaint. She also stated that the birth of her last child was premature, and she used her medical knowledge from that birth to help the story seem true, the complaint stated.